LAUSD drafts screen ban through 2nd

Los Angeles Unified’s latest screen-time debate is no longer centered only on phones, or even on whether students bring devices to school. The district’s draft policy goes further into classroom instruction itself: who uses screens, for how long, and under what limits. Staff presented that draft to the school board on May 19, weeks after the board voted to require a districtwide policy by June. The proposal would prohibit classroom screen use for early education through first grade, set narrow daily limits for second through fifth grade, and recommend longer but still defined ranges for middle and high school students. It also would shift the default on take-home devices away from one-to-one distribution unless families opt in, according to EdSource’s account of the draft. (edsource.org) ### How is this different from a cellphone ban? The April 21 board resolution targeted instructional screen time, not just personal devices. The measure required Los Angeles Unified to create grade-by-grade and subject-by-subject limits, encourage paper-and-pen assignments, clarify opt-out rules for families and audit education-technology contracts. (edsource.org) Nick Melvoin, the board member who led the resolution, said at the time that the district had not “recalibrated” its relationship with technology after the pandemic. NBC News reported the resolution passed 6-0 with one recusal, and LAist reported the board directed staff to return with a policy for implementation in the 2026-27 school year. (nbcnews.com) ### What would the draft actually allow by grade? EdSource reported the preliminary guidance sets a limit of zero minutes per day for early education through first grade. The same report said second and third grade would be limited to zero to 20 minutes a day, fourth and fifth grade to zero to 30 minutes, sixth through eighth grade to 60 to 120 minutes, and ninth through 12th grade to 90 to 180 minutes. (nbcnews.com) Those numbers are more specific than the April resolution, which had offered only an example for upper elementary students of no more than one hour a day or five hours a week. That earlier measure also contemplated restricting YouTube access, reviewing non-instructional gaming platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite, and reducing reliance on individual devices in elementary grades. (edsource.org) ### Why is the district focusing on teacher-directed screen use? Howard Blume reported in the Los Angeles Times, as republished by Government Technology, that the proposal would keep students off screens until second grade and then track and limit use. Government Technology also cited a district spokesperson saying elementary students recently averaged 31 to 50 minutes of classroom screen time a day. (edsource.org) That tracking requirement matters because it treats instructional screen exposure as something the district intends to measure and manage, rather than leaving it only to classroom practice. The April resolution already required a detailed policy by grade and subject, which pointed toward limits embedded in lesson design rather than a narrower student-discipline rule. (govtech.com) ### Who pushed this onto the board’s agenda? Schools Beyond Screens, a parent group in Los Angeles, spent months pressing the district to review mandatory classroom device use, according to EdSource and NBC News. Parents told reporters that school-issued Chromebooks and iPads had become sources of distraction, including games, YouTube and other online content during class time. (nbcnews.com) Anya Meksin, a deputy director of Schools Beyond Screens, told NBC News after the April vote that supporters saw the move as a broader change in how schools approach technology. Sandra Martinez Roe, a parent quoted by LAist, said she objected to her son being expected to do second-grade work on a Chromebook while still learning basic reading and writing skills. (edsource.org) ### What happens next at LAUSD? June is the next key date. The April resolution required district staff to bring a detailed policy back to the board that month, and multiple reports said the policy is intended to take effect in the 2026-27 school year. Los Angeles Unified has not yet finalized the draft ranges or all enforcement details in the material surfaced so far. (nbcnews.com) But the board now has a preliminary framework in front of it, and the next formal step is a June vote on the final policy. (edsource.org)